The Yakuza Papers

(Home Vision Entertainment, 12.14.2004)

Deemed by critics, fans, and filmmakers as some of the greatest Japanese gangster works of the 20th century, Kinji Fukasaku's yakuza films have remained rather unknown by American audiences. Luckily, many of Fukasaku's films -- including some of his non-yakuza material -- have recently made it to region 1 DVD (mostly courtesy of HVE) including his seminal 5-part epic The Yakuza Papers, arguably one of the greatest yakuza series ever created and Japan's very own Godfather franchise.

Adapted from a 2-part serialized novel by Koichi Iiboshi -- that was inspired by the real near 30-year-long Hiroshima gang war -- Fukasaku's films contain innumerable stylistic and narrative virtues. The fight scenes are extremely well handled -- there must have been around fifty gun/sword/fistfights spread throughout the series' nearly 500 minute running time -- and oftentimes create a truly unique, visceral experience.

The hand-held camera moves up, around, and upside-down as these thugs pack into the frame and tear each other to shreds. It's truly chaotic, horrifying, and utterly enthralling. In some cases, when someone's getting pumped with so many bullets -- usually about a whole round and still standing -- you simply gotta laugh.

They certainly have a different threshold for pain in Japan (see Kill Bill: Vol. 1) and many of Fukasaku's films contain this embellished approach to violence and mortality. In this universe, there's really no good or bad side, everyone has a little of both. This makes character empathy intriguingly hard to decipher. All we know is that we've been following many of the people through 5 films and by now they mean a great deal to us.

The films also balance the different ranks of thugs with much grace. Our main characters are these big boss types. However, the really impressive characterizations come from the lesser leads. It's these secondary performances which really carry the film and ultimately gives it more depth -- especially when a young, naive thug from the wrong side of the tracks gets caught up in the game and ultimately meets his maker (this happens about once a film).

The dialogue is always sharp and coarse and, in Japanese, it's even more crude and offensive (the extra with the film's English translator confirms this). It's hard to gauge some aspects of the performances in a foreign language film. Oftentimes it seems like someone is overacting or hamming it up a bit but, as an English speaker, I cannot be definitively certain. Still, the films boast some big-name overseas actors. And even when the acting seems a bit overdone, it still makes a scene more enjoyable with its hint of camp flavor.

All 5 films are terrific. Interestingly, the violence gets tamer as the films progress. Mainly because people were using swords less and less as time went by so there aren't any bloody amputations after the third film (awwww).

The only drawback to the series may be its immensely complex plot. There are so many characters to keep up with, so many assassination dates and arrests to remember, that it becomes almost comically intricate. Don't let that bother you, though. It's certainly not going to prevent you from enjoying or even understanding the films and series as a whole.

By the end of each sequel, everything comes together, it's just that there's a lot of semi-arbitrary names and dates sprinkled in the middle and it's all very episodic. Characters come in and out of the story and don't necessarily change the course of the plot. Still, when coherent, these sequences do add a lot of style and substance.

Home Vision Entertainment has done a bang-up job with this gorgeous, nearly Criterion caliber release. All 5 film's 2.35:1 anamorphic widescreen transfers are stunningly clear and practically flawless. The film's beautiful color palette is lush and blacks look solid. Audio is also perfect, coming in 2.0 Mono in Japanese with English subtitles. One really cannot ask for anything better than this.

Also included on the first 5 discs are trailers for each film, as well as 2 more for other Fukasaku films. All 5 of these discs are also available separately.

There's also a sixth disc that is only available as part of The Yakuza Papers box set. This features all of the extra "featurette" material. First up is a nearly 10-minute long discussion with William Friedkin, called "Friedkin on Fukasaku." This is an adequate featurette, kinda short and sweet but nothing special. Friedkin talks about influences on/from American films of the 70s, including some thoughts on how The French Connection could have been directed by Fukasaku.

A longer featurette entitled "Jitsuroku: Reinventing the Genre" discusses the director in terms of how he changed the yakuza film genre. Other Japanese directors also discuss Fukasaku's impact on them growing up, as well as discuss his cinematic virtues and flamboyant style.

The informative "Translating Fukasaku" lasts about as long as the Friedkin extra. It has American translator Linda Hoeglund discussing her experiences working with Fukasaku, as well as her thoughts on his writing and cinematic work.

"Boryoku: Fukasaku and the Art of Violence" is a lengthy featurette with other directors commenting on how violence is depicted in Fukasaku's films and why. They offer an explanation of post-war Japan and the emotional anguish and rage that some people may have felt when a new, democratic Japan arose. The featurette also includes behind-the-scenes footage and an interview with the director.

"Kaplan on the Yakuza" has David Kaplan -- yakuza expert extraordinaire -- discussing the history of the yakuza, going as far back as feudal Japan and the idea of the samurai until current day Japan. This is an interesting piece but I would've liked to know just how historically accurate this film actually is. This question is somewhat neglected.

Finally, the charming "Kantoku: Remembering Fukasaku" features a discussion between Kenta Fukasaku (the director's son), Battle Royale 1 and 2 producer Masao Sata, and Fukasaku biographer Sadao Yamane, in which they discuss the late director, his technique, and several of his films. This may sound like an enormous amount of bonus material but, unfortunately, it isn't quite so vast. Each featurette is well under 20 minutes and some of these are available on other Fukasaku DVD releases.

With such good transfers, more than adequate extras, and a beautiful package, this DVD is certainly worth the price of purchase if you're a fan of the director or the yakuza genre (can you be a fan of one and not the other?). There are also 2 attractive and informative inserts. One great insert addition is a yakuza family tree with chronological descriptions of all 5 films. At least now you'll understand exactly what's going on in this accomplished, yet frequently complicated, series. Repeat viewings should also make things clearer, which is all the more reason to buy, right? -- Neil Karassik